Power-transmitting mechanism.



No. 679,365 Patented July 30, |90|. n. n. DARLING. POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

[Applicafiipn filed Jan. 6, 1900.)

(No Model.)

AT EST Invznrua.

' ATTY" THE NORR'S PETERS cu. wun'ram'uod WASHINGTOI. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

THE BEARDSLEY &

HUBBS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

POWER-TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

$PECIFIGATION' forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 679,365, dated July 30, 1901.

' Application filed January 6, 1900. $erial No. 569. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROLLA R. DARLING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Transmitting Mechanism; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to power-transmittin g mechanism for motor-vehicles; and the object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for this purpose which will afford variable speed and reversal of movement at the will of the operator, all as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

'In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional plan View of the invention on line a a, Fig. 2. Fig. is an elevation thereof on line 2 2, Fig. 1, the near portion of the carrying-frame being removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of one of the bellows or inflatable devices for adjusting the shafts axially, ashereinafter fully described.

In the organization here shown, A represents the engine driven or power-shaft proper, and B the driven shaft or axle, presumably, but not necessarily, a vehicle-axle.

O, D, and E are three successive gear-carrying shafts supported in a suitable framework F and mounting what are practically two separate and distinct lines of power-transmitting mechanism. Thus 2, 3, and 4. constitute what may be considered asone line and 5, 6, and 7 the other line. The firstnamed line may also be treated as the direct or forward line and 5, 6, and 7 as the indirect or reverse line. Intermediate of these two lines of gears and involving parts of both, or both in part, are the speed-varying combinationshereinbefore referred to. Then, as a further sameness of organization and relation the gears 2, 3, and at are each fixed permanently on its shaft, while the gears 5, 6, and 7 are free or loose thereon, and simi lar friction engagement between said fixed and loose gears on each shaft successively is also provided for. In this instance the means and meshing with a small gear or pinion 1O on the hub of gear 6. The gear 6 in turn meshes with a pinion 11 on the hub of gear 5, while the hub of fixed gear at on shaft E carries a sprocket-wheel 12, over which runs the sprocket-chain 13 to another Wheel 14, fixed on the driven shaft or axle B, thereby coinpleting the power connections to said shaft.

Now considering first the direct power connections and movement, we find the free gear 5 meshing permanently with the power-pinion 8; but all the direct or forward line mech anism beyond gear 5 would stand still if ongagement were not made therewith. Hence in order to employ said mechanism I provide a friction-coupling through the friction members c and cl, which are pressed together by the axial movement of shaft O, through the expansible device H, Fig. 3, one such device beiugattached to each shaft 0, D, and E, but all independent of each other. For convenience this device will be referred to hereinafter as a bellows, being inflatable and expansible and having its sides bearing against opposite plates 15 and- 16. Each shaft is loosely engaged with one of the disks 16, which is provided with an interposed antifriction or ball-bearing having its backing against a flange or head 17 on the shaft and next to which the disk 16 is confined,while the opposite disk 15 is fixed to a supplemental frame-bar 18 or its equivalent to give it a firm backing when pressure is applied. The sides of the bellows press against these disks when the bellows is expanded through pneumatic or other available fluid-pressure introduced through flexible tube 20. This forces the shaft axially far enough to make the desired friction engagement between the parts 0 and d, when the shaft- O is forcibly rotated and power is transmitted thence through gears 3 and 4t and sprocket-chain 13 to the driven shaft or axle B. Meantime the gears 6 and 7 are running idle. If a different rate of speed be otherhand, if'a reverse movement be desired:

it is easily and promptly obtained bypassing both gears 2 and 3 and operating through gear 4 and its shaft to connect up with gear I '7. This would introduce the'new factor of opposite direction.

the intermediate pinion 9, and althoughthere would be no change of direction of rotation in gears5 and 6 it would work a reversalon gear 7 and its shaft and gear 4, so thatnow the driven shaft or axle B would turn in the all these changes of speed and direction are made through frictional appliances,v so that there, need be no strain or breakage, nor even. abruptness in the movements.

If preferred, a strictlymechanical device maybe employed in lieu of the bellowsor its equivalent here shown.

It willgbe noticed that the hubs of the gears 5,3 6, and 7 bear against antifriction-ball's locatedlagainst the frame F, so as to, afford an easy bearing here when said gears are at,

work. An-ysuitable spring may be intro- 7 duced hereor there to throw thefriction-surfacesic and d out of engagement, when the axial pressure isrelieved. Indeed, Ifind that in mostcases the tendencyis so, decidedjto clear at this point that no particular separating mechanism is needed;

In lieu of friction-clutches other clutches may be used, and in lieu of moving the shaft to make clutch engagement eithergear on.

the shaft maybe, moved toward the other for this purpose. changes of mechanism and equivalent constructions employed hereand there. without departingfrom the spirit of the invention..

What I claim is-.-

1; In .power transmitting mechanism, av

drive-shaft and a driven shaft and a series of shafts intermediatethereof and parallel thereto, two trains of gears on said intermediate shafts, one of whichis fixed to the shaftsand the other free, power connections between the drive-shaft and the first ofthe said free.

gears and power connections between the last of thesaid fixed gears and the driven shaft,

and means to operatively connect said gears on the several intermediate shafts, substantially as described.

2. The drive-shaft and the driven. shaft, a series of intermediate shafts and a set of gears on each intermediate shaft, a clutch between the. gears on each shaft and means tothrow each: clutch separately into engagement, and power connections between sa'id'gears and the drive and driven shafts, substantially as described.

It willbe noticed thatv So, also, may therebe kindred 1 3. The drive-shaft and the driven shaft, a set of intermediate shafts and two. trains of gears mounted on said intermediate shafts, one of which is fixed to the shafts, and clutch mechanism between the gears on each intermediate shaft, whereby different combinations of said gears-are. made for the transn1is.

sionof power, substantially as described.

4:. In power-transmitting mechanism, two trains of gears and parallel shafts each having one-gear of each train fixed thereon and one of each train free, and clutch mechanism between the fixed and free gears on each shaft, substantially as described.

5. A,power-transmitting mechanism comprising a series of parallel shafts, a set of gears on each shaftand the gears on one ishaft cooperating. with the corresponding gears on. thenext shaft to. transmit the power, one, lineof sai .gearsbeing fastened .to said shafts and the other line. loose thereon, sub-- stantially as described.

6. The drive-shaft. and the driven shaft,

three parallel intermediate shafts, a. train of intermeshing free gears and a train. of inter-. meshing fixed gears. on said intermediate shafts, and clutches between them, in combination with apinionaon. the driver-shaft engaged with said free-gears, and power-transmittingconnections between the lastof said fixed gears and, thedriven shaft,substan tially as. described;

7. The means substantially as described for varying the speed of the vehicle, comprising a drive-shaft and a driven shaft, a set of intermediate shafts and two trainsof gears thereon in parallel lines, oneset freeon said shafts and'the other fixed thereon, clutch mechanism between the gears on eachshaft, there being apinion rigid with the free gear next tothe drive-shaft, and 'meshingwith the freegear on the next adjacent shaft, whereby power is taken vthrough a pinion. instead of.

a gear on the first of said series of shafts and the speed. is reduced, substantially as described.

. S. In power -transmitting mechanism for imotor-vehicles, the drive-shaft and the driven shaft, a series of intermediate shafts, and a ITO seriesof 'fixed gears and a series of loose.

ROLLA .R. DARLING.

Witnesses:

H. E. MUDRA, R. B. MOSER. 

